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[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 23 (Wednesday, February 4, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6086-6087]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02265]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9922-46-OA]

Request for Nominations of Experts for the Clean Air Scientific 
Advisory Committee (CASAC) Particulate Matter Review Panel

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory 
Board (SAB) Staff Office requests public nominations for scientific 
experts to form a CASAC ad hoc panel to provide advice through the 
chartered CASAC on the scientific and technical aspects of air quality 
criteria and the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for 
particulate matter (PM).

DATES: Nominations should be submitted by February 25, 2015 per 
instructions below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing 
further information regarding this Notice and Request for Nominations 
may contact Mr. Aaron Yeow, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), SAB Staff 
Office, by telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-2050 or via email at 
yeow.aaron@epa.gov. General information concerning the CASAC can be 
found at the CASAC Web site at http://www.epa.gov/casac.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Background: The Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) was 
established under section 109(d)(2) of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) 
(42 U.S.C. 7409) as an independent scientific advisory committee. CASAC 
provides advice, information and recommendations on the scientific and 
technical aspects of air quality criteria and NAAQS under sections 108 
and 109 of the Act. The CASAC is a Federal advisory committee chartered 
under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). As amended, 5 U.S.C., 
App. Section 109(d)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires that EPA 
carry out a periodic review and revision, as appropriate, of the air 
quality criteria and the NAAQS for the six ``criteria'' air pollutants, 
including PM. As a Federal Advisory Committee, the CASAC conducts 
business in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) 
(5 U.S.C. App. 2) and related regulations. The CASAC and the CASAC PM 
Review Panel will comply with the provisions of FACA and all 
appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies.
    Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is seeking 
nominations of nationally and internationally recognized scientists 
with demonstrated expertise and research in the field of air pollution 
related to PM. Experts are sought in: air quality and climate 
responses, atmospheric science and chemistry, dosimetry, toxicology, 
controlled clinical exposure, epidemiology, biostatistics, human 
exposure modeling, risk assessment/modeling, characterization of PM 
concentrations and light extinction, and visibility impairment and 
related welfare effects.
    Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested 
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals in the areas 
of expertise described above. Nominations should be submitted in 
electronic format (preferred over hard copy) following the instructions 
for ``Nominating Experts to Advisory Panels and Ad Hoc Committees Being 
Formed,'' provided on the CASAC Web site. If you wish to nominate 
yourself or another expert, please follow the instructions that can be 
accessed through the ``Nomination of Experts'' link on the blue 
navigational bar at the CASAC Web site http://www.epa.gov/casac. To 
receive full consideration, nominations should include all of the 
information requested below.
    EPA's SAB Staff Office requests contact information about the 
person making the nomination; contact information about the nominee; 
the disciplinary and specific areas of expertise of the nominee; the 
nominee's resume or curriculum vitae; sources of recent grant and/or 
contract support; and a biographical sketch of the nominee indicating 
current position, educational background, research activities, and 
recent service on other national advisory committees or national 
professional organizations.
    Persons having questions about the nomination procedures, or who 
are unable to submit nominations through the CASAC Web site, should 
contact Mr. Aaron Yeow, DFO, as indicated above in this notice. 
Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later than 
February 25, 2015.
    EPA values and welcomes diversity. In an effort to obtain 
nominations of diverse candidates, EPA encourages

[[Page 6087]]

nominations of women and men of all racial and ethnic groups.
    The EPA SAB Staff Office will acknowledge receipt of nominations. 
The names and biosketches of qualified nominees identified by 
respondents to this Federal Register notice, and additional experts 
identified by the SAB Staff, will be posted in a List of Candidates on 
the CASAC Web site at http://www.epa.gov/casac. Public comments on this 
List of Candidates will be accepted for 21 days. The public will be 
requested to provide relevant information or other documentation on 
nominees that the SAB Staff Office should consider in evaluating 
candidates.
    For the EPA SAB Staff Office a balanced review panel includes 
candidates who possess the necessary domains of knowledge, the relevant 
scientific perspectives (which, among other factors, can be influenced 
by work history and affiliation), and the collective breadth of 
experience to adequately address the charge. In forming this expert 
panel, the SAB Staff Office will consider public comments on the List 
of Candidates, information provided by the candidates themselves, and 
background information independently gathered by the SAB Staff Office. 
Selection criteria to be used for panel membership include: (a) 
Scientific and/or technical expertise, knowledge, and experience 
(primary factors); (b) availability and willingness to serve; (c) 
absence of financial conflicts of interest; (d) absence of an 
appearance of a lack of impartiality; (e) skills working in committees, 
subcommittees and advisory panels; and, (f) for the panel as a whole, 
diversity of expertise and viewpoints.
    The SAB Staff Office's evaluation of an absence of financial 
conflicts of interest will include a review of the ``Confidential 
Financial Disclosure Form for Special Government Employees Serving on 
Federal Advisory Committees at the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency'' (EPA Form 3110-48). This confidential form allows government 
officials to determine whether there is a statutory conflict between a 
person's public responsibilities (which includes membership on an EPA 
federal advisory committee) and private interests and activities, or 
the appearance of a lack of impartiality, as defined by federal 
regulation. The form may be viewed and downloaded from the following 
URL address http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/epaform3110-48.pdf.
    The approved policy under which the EPA SAB Office selects 
subcommittees and review panels is described in the following document: 
Overview of the Panel Formation Process at the Environmental Protection 
Agency Science Advisory Board (EPA-SAB-EC-02-010), which is posted on 
the SAB Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/ec02010.pdf.

    Dated: January 28, 2015.
Thomas Brennan,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2015-02265 Filed 2-3-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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